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Waking up is hard to do, but it's easier with NPR's Morning Edition. Hosts Renée Montagne and Steve Inskeep present the day's stories and news to radio listeners on the go. While they are out traveling, David Greene can be heard as regular substitute host. Matt McCleskey and the WAMU news team bring the latest news from the Washington Metro area. Jerry Edwards keeps an eye on the daily commute. Morning Edition provides news in context, airs thoughtful ideas and commentary, and reviews important new music, books, and events in the arts. All with voices and sounds that invite listeners to experience the stories.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

The international focus on military action in Syria is further straining Turkey's war-stressed border villages. Syrian mortars continue to kill and wound civilians on the Turkish side. Displaced Syrians are still lining up on the Syrian side, waiting for permission to enter Turkey.

In a sign of China's growing importance as a market for Apple, the company will be rolling out its new iPhones simultaneously in the U.S. and China for the first time later this month. There are a few signs, however, that the new models will not find the sort of frenzied demand as before.

Diplomats continue to consider a Russian plan to get Syria to hand over its chemical weapons to international control. If nations can agree on the details, the plan could avert a U.S. strike against Syrian targets. But accounting for and destroying Syria's chemical arsenal is a complicated undertaking.

The University of Wisconsin System will soon offer a new option for working adults who want to complete their bachelor's degree. Under the Flexible Option, students can earn credits and a degree, by proving they've mastered competencies. The Flex Option is aimed at helping more than 700,000 residents who have college credit but no degree, and adults who don't have time to attend classes.

Today marks the 12th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. Over the last several years, a group of family members have created a movement to turn the anniversary into a national day of service. This year more than 30 million people will be involved, and they claim it's the largest day of service in the country.

Las Vegas is adding an eye-catching tourist attraction, in the form of a huge wheel that can take more than 1,000 people on a ride 550 feet into the sky over the city's famed Strip. The main construction of the wheel, called the High Roller, is nearly finished; it is expected to open in early 2014.

The country will pause Wednesday morning to remember the victims of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. At the site of the Twin Towers in lower Manhattan, the names of all the victims will be read, along with the victims of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

The National Security Agency violated special court restrictions on the use of a database of telephone calls, but the NSA says it fixed those problems. That's the bottom line from more documents declassified by the director of National Intelligence. The document dump is part of an effort to share more details about NSA surveillance activities that were uncovered by former government contractor Edward Snowden.

President Obama addressed a skeptical nation Tuesday night, trying to make the case for military strikes on Syria. At the same time, the White House is exploring a possible diplomatic alternative that involves putting Syria's chemical weapons under international control.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is swapping out three of its blue chip companies, in what's being called the biggest shake up of the index in almost a decade. Standard & Poor's announced it's dropping Hewlett Packard, Alcoa and Bank of America at the end of next week. Sliding into their places: Visa, Nike and Goldman Sachs.

Secretary of State John Kerry will go to Geneva to meet with his Russian counterpart to discuss the diplomatic alternative in which Syria would turn over its chemical weapons. For analysis on that proposal, Steve Inskeep talks to former state department official and ambassador Nicholas Burns. He is now a professor at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.

Since Sept. 11, one of the most effective ways the United States has found to weaken terrorist groups has been to go after their finances. Renee Montagne talks to former Treasury official Juan Zarate, who's new book is: Treasury's War: The Unleashing of a New Era of Financial Warfare.

Nathan Myhrvold, who made his name with inventions at Microsoft, is focusing these days on a different kind of technological advance: the threat from biological weapons. Myhrvold's in Washington this week to meet with national security leaders. He wants to convince them to spend time and energy on terrorist attacks that could cause the greatest damage.

Joseph Sweet and a friend got lost in a cave in Watertown, N.Y., nearly 20 years ago. They grew so desperate for light that Sweet made little torches out of the only fuel he had, taking dollar bills from his wallet and setting them on fire. The good news: he got rescued. The bad news: he lost his wallet.

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